


the way we come together (shut up and let me love you)

by ebocoe



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Blue uses obliviousness, Fluff, Isshu-chihou | Unova, Kanto-chihou | Kanto, M/M, Red uses sign language, Slow Burn, anyway, gratuitous use of commas, im married to run on sentences?, just read it, kinda told in snippets?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 03:31:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18136610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebocoe/pseuds/ebocoe
Summary: Blue is an oblivious piece of shit, and Red is so tired.or: they grow up, and they grow apart, and then suddenly everything is different and, well. this might as well happen.





	the way we come together (shut up and let me love you)

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY this was just supposed to be a quick little timeline of events to base another fic off of but oops! i got super carried away and made them kiss and stuff. enjoy!

Blue is seven when he notices grandpa is nicer to his best friend than he is to Blue. Leaf says Blue just needs a hug, and he should just talk to Red. He does, next time he sees him at school. Red just looks at him with his wide eyes, shakes his head, and leads him by the hand to the playground.

-

Professor Oak gives Red first choice when its time to choose their first pokemon. He takes Bulbasaur, the one Blue had wanted since before he can remember. It's a slight really, payback for him being so mean lately. Blue just narrows his eyes and picks up Charmander's pokeball, challenging Red to a battle right there. (he loses, even with the type advantage.)

-

Blue takes his pride in being one step ahead of Red. Red still beats him into the ground when they battle. He’s angry at himself, and at his pokemon for a little while too. His Rattata nudges his hand while he’s sat crying one day, and that all anger melts away as he sobs apologies to the little purple guy. Red finds Blue in Lavender Tower. Something happened there, he won't say what for a very long time (or ever). Blue’s different after this. He pretends it’s just the ghost pokemon, and Red pretends with him. They battle. Red tries not to win. He does.

-

Blue defeats the league and thinks he's finally done enough to make his grandpa proud, finally lived up to his last name. (Red takes the title from him before he's even left his lab.) Professor Oak congratulates Red, calls him son, and avoids eye contact when he pats Blue’s shoulder. Blue meets Red’s eyes for a half second and sees there the friendship he’s ruined in the name of a relationship with a man who never wanted one.

-

_Red disappears up a mountain. The championship title was never his goal. (not Blue’s, either.) He hates the attention, and the prestige, and the messy culmination of what was supposed to be the epitome of his childhood. He runs away._

-

Lance offers the champion title back to Blue in Red’s absence. Blue tells him to fuck off. Lance doesn’t and instead brings up the empty gym in Viridian, and that’s what makes Blue think for a minute.

-

Blue settles. He doesn’t think about Red, or the fact that he’s become more famous since going missing, or the fact that his grandpa only calls to ask if he’s seen him, or the fact that people know him as ‘that champion kids friend’ (which is funny by itself, really, to say either of them are capable of having friends). He takes challengers, and shows kids how to catch their first pokemon, and sits in meetings, and remembers to call Daisy every month, and does paperwork, and somehow avoids the encompassing feeling that he’s hiding from something. It’s enough. He makes it enough. Two kids show up at the gym, loud and excited and stronger than anyone he’s battled in a long time. They introduce themselves as Ethan and Lyra, and Blue gets the feeling they might be the best worst people he’s ever met.

-

He’s happy. He spends weekends on Leaf’s living room floor laughing and drinking and swapping stories between the loose circle of people he now calls his friends. (not that he would ever say, they’re more the human equivalent of a tumor than anything) Ethan and Lyra mention climbing Mt. Silver for a training week, and after Blue finishes telling them why that's a batshit crazy stupid idea, he can't shake the feeling that something’s going to happen. (He feels like that a lot, lately. Leaf calls it 'anxiety' but where’d she get her psych degree, huh?) Two weeks later, Lyra and Ethan pull him aside and tell him, as gently as they can, that they know where Red is.

-

Blue plans a trip to Mt. Silver.

-

When Blue finds him, he can’t speak for a minute. He wants to hit him and hug him and burst into tears right there in the snow but all he says is _how fucking dare you_ Red asks him why he’s here and Blue has no idea how to respond to that but he does know how to deflect and make a problem worse, so he tries to return the question, but he can't stop thinking how Red left everyone and everything behind and his poor mom and Blue is so angry for a second all that he can say is _fuck you_ , before turning and leaving without another word. He comes back two weeks later, still pissed, but with supplies this time- He might be mad at him but he doesn’t want the guy to fucking die.

-

It becomes a thing. They don’t talk about it. Red doesn’t leave the mountain. Blue stops asking. Ethan still comes, too. He hasn’t beaten Red, and Blue won’t admit to anyone or himself that seeing it, again and again, is a pride point for him. He doesn’t know when he stopped being envious of Red. He doesn’t know when he stopped hating Red.

-

They trade pokemon. They're sitting side by side in Red’s shitty freezing cave and Red nudges him with a pokeball. Blue takes it and opens it, and its the Venusaur that was supposed to be his when he was a kid. He doesn’t want to take it, but Red insists, and it's only when he forces Red to take his Charizard in return that he can safely clip the ball to his belt without feeling guilty. He still cries about it later, in his own home, overwhelmed by whatever it meant. Eventually, even Red loses to Ethan. Lyra cheers, and takes photos and calls Blue when it happens. For some reason, the only thing he can think of is whether or not Red’s okay.

-

Red’s not. It’s startling to Blue, the realization that Red’s never had to experience real failure. It should make him gloat. He should rub it in that _now you know how it feels, huh? To be second best? To know you’ll never measure up?_ But he can’t, and he doesn't want to, so instead he sits by Red in his cave, and watches the fire in silence. He wants to say something, but the words won't form the right way, and there's probably nothing he could say that would matter right now anyway. He asks if Red’s ever coming down the mountain. Surprisingly, he nods.

-

Red shows up in the middle of the night in front of Blue’s house, sweating and looking way more tired than should be allowed in a human person. Blue just sighs and steps aside to let him in. Red falls asleep on the couch within 10 minutes. He’s gone the next morning, and Blue can’t really say he expected much more.

-

It becomes a thing. Blue gives him a key and promises _no, I won't tell anyone you’re back but you really really need to call your mom just saying._ Red does, and his mom cries and shows up at their door the next morning, arms full of baked goods and eight years worth of gifts she had saved for the son she thought was dead. Blue wordlessly steps out, not wanting to be around for their reunion. He’s had enough of those.

-

Red comes and goes; leaving for weeks at a time before reappearing in a heap of dirty clothes and greasy hair on Blue’s couch at ungodly hours. Blue forces him to invest in a phone - _a new one Red, that people can actually contact you on_ so he won't be so worried about the idiot’s safety while he does god knows what on a stupid mountain.

-

Red tells him about Rocket’s experiments, and about Mewtwo; the reason he disappears for so long and comes back looking 10 years older than he is. _Bullshit_ , Blue says.

-

It's not bullshit. Very much not bullshit, the way the air around the pokemon is so hot and thick and Blue can’t really breathe very much right now and his brain is doing a funny pulsing thing but he focuses on the back of Red’s head and tries very very hard not to look at the sickly pink creature or the tube in its back and oh god he’s going to be si

He wakes up to Arcanine licking his hair and Red side-eyeing him across the fire he’s built. _You’re insane_ , he says when he can speak, and Red smiles a little bit, so it's okay really. It’s fine. If he starts to wonder why that is, he doesn't let the thought live long. Blue asks what he’s doing all this for, the visits and the training and any of it. Red hesitates, and pulls a dented old master ball from his bag and shows it to Blue. he explains that Mewtwo can't be around people or pokemon right now, and the only safe place for him to interact with it is in the mountains where it can't hurt anyone ( _except you_ , Blue thinks bitterly, but doesn't voice it)

-

(he makes red promise he’ll be careful, _please I mean it_ , the next time he goes to see mewtwo again. red nods barely, jerkily, and pulls his hat lower as he steps out the door)

-

He comes back and shows Blue the two halves of Mewtwo's ball. Blue gasps and asks _what the hell did you do that for?_ Red only says (well, not really) _It felt trapped. Angry. But not anymore. I let it go. Promised it wouldn’t hurt anyone._ Blue just stares at him for a while, and kind of wants to cry, kind of wants to know how the fuck he managed to talk to it, but mostly wants to put a name to this emotion he’s feeling when thinking of Red in a cave with a monster teaching it to communicate with him. He shakes his head, smiling, and turns away saying _whatever, mountain man. I'm ordering pizza_. Red, blessedly, doesn't mention it.

-

Blue wakes up to Pikachu curled up under his chin. Eevee is mad at him the rest of the day and makes a point to look directly at him as she settles on Red’s shoulder that afternoon.

-

Blue wakes up to Red’s arm curled around his waist, and has the sense of mind to ask _what the fuck do you think you're doing?_ Red smiles apologetically, and signs _sorry, Arcanine, couch, was tired, 4 am._ Blue sighs, and moves Red’s arm back to his own body, thank you very much before turning around and pretending to sleep. He doesn’t think about how warm Red makes this bed, or how safe and it felt to be under his arm, or how Eevee wiggles her little ears at him and squints in a way that is entirely too suggestive for his little girl to do.

-

It becomes a thing. Blue pretends to be exasperated when he wakes up to Red’s ninja cuddling every morning. Red pretends with him. (or at least, Blue hopes he does.)

-

Lance turns up at the gym one day, letters in hand, perpetual look of vague annoyance firmly in place. (along with that stupid, stupid cape Blue thought was cool as fuck at age 13) He explains about a tournament in Unova, a few months from now, all expenses paid s _o Please, just go. Don't make this difficult, please, I am begging you._ When he hands Blue the envelopes, his is addressed to Champion Blue Oak, and okay yeah, that feels nice. The other is for Red, and when Blue remembers he’s supposed to be keeping Red’s return semi-secret, Lance only looks at him and says Yo _u think the league wouldn’t notice? Don’t worry. You can tell him his location hasn’t been leaked. Not by us, anyway. Bye._ He leaves, stupid cape swishing in an admittedly dramatic way that even Blue’s gay enough to appreciate to some degree.

-

Red eyes the letter with some degree of obvious reluctance. _Unova. Crowded. Cameras._ He grimaces. _People._ Blue pats his shoulder in what he hopes is a comforting gesture. _Hey, it won't be that bad. I’ll be there too._ _Just think about it._ Red just looks at him dubiously, rolls his eyes, but nods anyway. Blue isn't super sure what that means, but he smiles anyway and goes back to the unread book in his lap.

-

Red comes through the door one evening, hands full of grocery bags, and looking more excited than he’s seen him in a long time. He rushes to the kitchen table and rustles through a few bags before practically running over to where Blue watches him from the couch, holding one hand out in a fist. Blue hesitatingly moves to receive whatever it is that has this idiot so excited, before Red turns his fist over, opening to reveal the tiniest keychain of an Eevee Blue’s ever seen. He laughs and takes it, fumbling for his keys on the table next to him. Red looks way too proud over the next few days for buying something Blue likes, and Blue mentally makes a note to return the favor when he can.

-

‘When he can’ turns out to be in the airport the day of their flight to Driftveil. Red’s clutching a cup of watery airport coffee, looking absolutely murderous without Pikachu and surrounded by the noise of what sounds like every living person on the planet at 6 am. Blue mumbles a _hold on_ and disappears into a crowd of people, returning with a package of earplugs decorated with little Pikachu faces on the ends. He offers it to Red, who looks at him like he’s just given him a check for 10 million dollars. He grins and looks away, and hopes Red isn’t as good at reading people as he thinks.

-

They make it to the hotel with a healthy degree of struggle- Blue’s grasp of Unovan isn’t totally stellar, and he’s so jetlagged he can’t feel his legs, so when they finally receive their key cards Blue doesn’t even protest when Red follows him into his room.

-

They spend the next few days exploring Unova. Red spends a morning knee deep in the (kind of gross looking, honestly) water, scooping up curious Luvdisc and Frillish in a net. He presents the biggest Frillish he finds to Blue, sitting cross-legged on the dock, before releasing it back into the ocean. They waste an entire Wednesday exploring Mistralton Cave, (much to Blue’s chagrin, because s _eriously Red, what are you gonna find? Zubat? If you get lost I’m leaving you in here._ ) and only end up leaving when Red catches a satisfactory sized Boldore. Pikachu loves her and insists on riding on her head for the rest of the trip back to Driftveil.

-

(they sleep in the same bed, in the same room, in the same city, breathing the same air and blue lays awake listening to the beating of his own heart and the rhythm of red’s breathing next to him and thinks _oh._ )

-

Blue meets Red after the tournament’s first day, both exhausted and so, so excited. He asks how many battles Red lost and isn’t even mad when he responds _none, you?_

-

They only have a week left in Unova, and it’s raining so heavily outside that even Red’s Blastoise looks out the window and shakes his head. (an old conversation, one-sided, all Blue’s own bitterness - _he gave you the last pokemon? of course he did. who else, right?_ ) Blue sighs and moves to ask Red what he wants to do, but finds him already staring. Red startles and looks away so quickly Blue worries he might’ve gotten whiplash, but he chooses not to mention it. He hands Red the TV remote and curls his hands in Eevee’s fur if only to give himself something to hold onto.

-

They spend one evening in a restaurant (recommended by Leaf’s phone call, y _ou’re in Unova? Oh you HAVE to try-_ ) competing over who can pick up an ice cube using a straw. It’s stupid, and Blue is laughing too loud, but it’s good. Red’s eyes crinkle at the corners when he laughs, and it's such a good look on him that Blue forgets to pretend he’s not completely in love for a few minutes. He steals a bite from Red’s plate and acts mock offended when Red does the same, and when the waiter asks if they’ll be splitting the check, Blue is (pleasantly) surprised by Red shaking his head. He waves off Blue’s attempt to pay him back, and when they get back to the hotel room he grins and shows Blue the glass he stole, hidden in his jacket. Blue laughs so hard he tears up, and when he finishes laughing Red is looking at him the way he looks at sleeping Pikachu, or pretty sunsets, or old pictures of themselves, or (if Blue paid any attention) the way he’s been looking at Blue every day for months. Blue looks away.

-

It occurs to Blue when they have three days left of the trip that through all of this, they haven't battled each other yet. He doesn’t even know if he wants to, to be honest. He asks Red anyways, and his eyes light up with the challenge immediately. They’re on the beach, and Red sends out Snorlax. He always starts with Snorlax, Blue notices. His defense was so high it was an easy way to wear down opponents before really even getting started. Blue grins and sends out his Pidgeot.

-

He loses, of course. (Though - and he was very proud of this - it was a pretty close match.)

-

It’s the morning before the day they leave. Blue wakes up slowly; the bed is so warm and his Eevee is curled close to his chest, there's sunlight filtering in from the window behind where Red lays. He turns, lies on his back and comes face to face with Red, who’s lying on his side watching Blue with a soft look in his eyes that makes Blue feel suddenly like he’s the center of attention, and so comfortable at the same time. Red smiles, and it’s gentle - the warmth that spreads through his chest and comes out his mouth whispering _good morning_ ; his hair is a mess and his breath stinks but it feels so inevitable the way Red leans across the few inches that separate them and presses their lips together, he can feel himself smiling but he can't stop, not when he feels like the sunlight from outside is shining right through him - right out of him and when Red pulls back Blue follows him, because of course he does.

-

Leaf meets them at the Saffron City airport, all smiles and hugs and _how was it?_ Blue doesn’t really know how to respond except for g _ood, fun, we're tired._ Red nods along to the conversation, jet-lagged out of his mind but still reaches for Blue’s hand as they make their way to the doors outside. Leaf notices but, bless her, says nothing. (she does raise her eyebrows, and texts blue to ‘TELL ME EVERYTHING!!!!’ when she drops them off in Viridian, but he’ll still give her credit for subtlety)

-

They talk about it. Blue sits cross-legged on his bed and Red lays down next to him, listening and nodding and squeezing Blue’s hand as he repeats _I'm sorry, I didn’t know, I was an asshole, you deserved better than that, I love you._ Red sits up and kisses him, and doesn’t stop kissing him until they both need air, and Red pulls back to sign _I know, don't worry, we were kids, stop apologizing._ His hands are a little shaky and he looks more than a little nervous but still ends with an _I love you_ before Blue leans forward, wrapping his arms around Red’s waist and just breathing for a moment. Red drops a kiss to his hair, tracing his fingers up and down Blue’s spine, and the moment feels so fragile Blue is afraid it might shatter at any second.

Embarrassingly little changes about their setup. Red wakes up at dawn to train, and wakes up Blue a few hours later, Blue goes the gym and comes home, Red goes on impromptu camping trips, they banter and argue over stupid things and have secret sign language conversations in public - the only thing different now is how close they’re standing.

(...and, admittedly, how often Blue steals clothes from Red that _don't even fit you, dummy_ , but thats not really the point anyway.)

**Author's Note:**

> please tell me your thoughts! ive never written for this fandom so i hope this was alright shgfsjkhd  
> you can find me on tumblr at https://xasec.tumblr.com if you feel like it,, gay rights


End file.
